Michael McGovern: SEA to PDX Screen-Printer Extraordinare

"Untitled" by Michael McGovern
15" x 22"
Mixed Media on Wood Panel
$500.00

Michael McGovern is one of the featured artists currently in our gallery for the "Screen-Play" exhibit showing through Friday, February 5th. He is an instructor at Sev Shoon, a wonderful print-making studio located in Ballard. I was lucky enough to stumble across his work through the Sev Shoon website and was completely taken in by his dreamy and eerie images using screen-printing as one of his main mediums for creating his pieces. Here is a little background on his work - I highly encourage you to stop by and see his work in person, though.

Michael Edward McGovern - Artist Bio
Michael Edward McGovern was born and raised in Portland Oregon and attended the Pacific Northwest College of Art where he studied photography and printmaking and earned a BFA in photography in 2004. Five years later in 2009 Michael graduated with his MFA in printmaking from Northern Illinois University where he studied under Michael Barnes and Ashley Nason. Currently living and working both in Portland Oregon and Seattle Washington Michael McGovern continues to make work based in both printmaking and photography.




"Slumber" by Michael McGovern
18" x 23"
Mixed Media on Wood Panel
$500.00


See more work from Screen-Play!


Artist Statement:
The environments and people that have surrounded my life inform the art I create. My work is about constructing autobiographical images that explore the ghosts of my past. I am interested in how both personal and cultural histories have profoundly affected my visual language. I compose memorials to the intangible memories of my past. By visually recording impressions of specific times, places, and events in my life I am preserving memories that seem to fade with each passing year. My work calls upon the repetitive nature of photography and printmaking to create a network of reoccurring images that I can meditate on to help search for a truth. I use a lexicon of images that relate to specific events in my history. Repeated images of bridges, birds, trains, war, urban landscapes, and old family portraits find their way into my work lending themselves to an unfolding narrative. All these images carry a personal biography, but also carry the weight of their own metaphors helping to furnish an ever-growing personal narrative.


http://www.bherdstudios.com/
Gallery Hours: Wed - Fri from 12-6pm and by appointment.

Bremerton Art Banner Project

Above is John Osgood's art banner in downtown Bremerton


Today John and I took a trip over to Bremerton to check out the new art banner installations and find his banner. In mid 2009 Washington artists were juried by the Bremerton Arts Commission to feature their work up and down the main streets of downtown Bremerton.

We took this video to highlight some of the other artists that are featured on the banners as well...

Meet Douglas Bick of Shambolic Prints

2 of Douglas Bick's pieces in our gallery for our current exhibit, "Screen-Play"

Douglas Bick was born in New York and raised in Flatbrush Brooklyn until the age of 19. He received his B.F.A. from S.U.N.Y. Purchase in Westchester, NY. He has lived in various parts of New England, the past 4 years and recently received his M.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design. He has his sights on moving in the near future to the West Coast and is looking at Portland, OR for his next adventure.



"ZZZ's Fiend"
17" x 11" framed
multi color silk-screen
$1000


"Y Fiend"
17" x 11" framed
multi color silk-screen
$1000

($1800 for the set: Y Fiend + ZZZ's Fiend)



"Scintillating Addiction II"
24" x 36"
1-color woodblock, 5-color silkscreen


Douglas Bick Artist Statement
from New York

An open-ended book is a story with no true beginning or ending. I strive to accomplish this concept by allowing the viewers of my work to embark on a visual adventure. I place expressive illustrations of pictorial forms within an image in a format that allows the viewer to conjure up their own surreal tales, based on their relationships with the concepts, objects, and their personal life experiences. As the artist, I administer the visual documentation of these tales with precise theories and comments on social and political issues, relating to contemporary society. The ideas behind these story lines are illustrated with a central and focused concept; I am just currently fascinated with the ideology behind having the viewer venture for personal reflection.

The art storytelling should not cease once the drafting of the imagery is complete. Printmaking is a process that allows artists to elaborate on their thoughts by creating depth and texture. These traits become intertwined with the storyline and have the ability to convey grace and elegance to any subject matter being depicted. All of my creative thoughts are filtered through the process of Printmaking; the medium has become a part of my identity. I am fascinated by the infinite possibilities that are presently seeking exploration within this timeless medium. Currently I am extremely interested in the process of combining mediums. The way these individualized art practices contrast and react to one another is perfect!

Don't miss out in seeing his artwork in person, Screen-Play will continue to be on exhibit until Friday, February 5th. Gallery hours are Wed - Fri from noon-6pm or by appointment (206) 234-8348.

www.bherdstudios.com

"You Are Here" at Centennial Gallery: Jan 7 - Feb 25

You Are Here features a multiple series of works – each demonstrating a segment of time in my recent period of producing artwork. Every emerging artist is told that they have matured when they are able to create a whole body of consistent work to present to the professional art world. But before artists reach this steady consistent body of work, they explore their options, styles and influences. Here is a peek into my evolutional process, finding my voice and exploring my passion.

Cut It Out (2008 - 2009)- series

This series happened quite by accident, while I was working on a piece called “Waiting”. After I was finished with that piece, I wasn't happy with the background, so I simply decided to cut it out. I really liked how the piece turned out and so I created another piece called The Meet and Greet with the design of a cut out as well. Not long after that, I was approached by an independent gallery that asked me to do a solo show. I decided that I wanted to further explore this style and based the entire show on it – naming it “Cut It Out”. I found that cutting the paintings out of wood in nontraditional shapes allowed me to play with the light and shadows on the wall and add dimension and playfulness to the series.

Spray Face (2008-2009) - series

The Spray Face Series was born from the necessity to create. I was in the midst of a studio change. During this time of transition I was doing a lot of moving, cleaning, and building. With one month before the grand opening of my new gallery and studio, with no real place to start painting and my paint brushes buried, I looked for whatever I could get my hands on. When I don’t create artwork, I get this itch that becomes something more like a fidgety/agitated state. I just have to create to quiet my mind and soul. I had previously incorporated aerosol into my paintings, but it played a more minor role in my works. With the cans easily accessible and no clean up required… aerosol became, for the first time in my paintings – first fiddle. Colors, shapes, drips, and pictures began to unfold. Shortly after the majority of work was completed on these paintings, I finally had walls to my studio, a place to paint, and a bucket of water to clean my brushes. I then went back in to fine tune my spray painted pieces with crisp lines of acrylics, and a new series was born.


A Chaotic Background (2006 -2007) - series

Protection #1 (6' x 4'), the centerpiece painting, was completed in 2001. At this time in my life I had just graduated from Washington State University, I was living with a few friends in house in Shoreline, but most importantly, I had a garage to paint in. I finally had my chance -- room to breathe, to let loose, and the desire to create on a big canvas. Also at the same time I was studying about Jackson Pollock and his journey. I channeled his energy to get the desired look I wanted for the background. As I think about it now, what I was doing was conditioning myself for how I was going to do my backgrounds in the future. The energy with a chaotic background resonated with me. To some it might seem like a jumbled mess, but to me -- I see hints and ques. These things allowed me to see other things that maybe are not so fleshed out, but I can fill in the blanks in my head.

From the creation of Protection #1, I continued on painting by drips, splats, and letting gravity do its work. As time passed on, I continued to work with a chaotic beginning, but I started to gather around the idea of color theory and using a comfortable analogous scheme. I believe that when I create backgrounds that are chaotic by using the analogous color scheme, it doesn’t take away from the main idea, but rather lets the main idea settle into the composition.

http://www.johnosgood.com/

"Screen-Play" Art Opening Fri, Jan 8th from 6-10pm

“Screen-Play”
Showing from Jan 8 – Feb 5
Opening Reception: Fri, Jan 8 from 6-10pm

Bherd Studios Gallery presents the work of screen-printing artists Douglas Bick of Shambolic Prints, Mindi Davis & Riley Raker of Blank Space Studios, Lance Lobuzzetta of Efflux Creations and Michael McGovern, Sev Shoon Art Instructor. These diverse artists take the viewer on a visual adventure featuring surreal scenes exploring everything from their internal dialogue on the meaning of life to the preservation of precious memories through autobiographical images. Screen-Play is not only the medium of their work… it’s their script.

The opening reception is held in conjunction with the 2nd Friday Monthly Artwalk in Greenwood-Phinney.


Here is a sneak peek using our brand new Flip Video camera. Bear with us as we are still learning to use it!

Mural at site of Greenwood arson to be unveiled this Thurs, Dec 31

Mural celebrates artistry and creativity of neighborhood

SEATTLE – December 29, 2009 – Taproot Theatre Company and Seattle Mural Art will unveil the mural created for the site of the October 23 arson in Greenwood on Thursday, December 31, at 11 a.m. Taproot Theatre Company commissioned Seattle Mural Art an affliate of Bherd Studios to create a mural to cover the safety fence where the Eleanor Roosevelt Building stood until the arson. Concerned about leaving a hole in the core of the Greenwood business district, Taproot Theatre, which owns the property, saw the mural as a way to add beauty to the neighborhood and facilitate more art. The mural celebrates Greenwood’s character and artistry, and demonstrates its resilience in the wake of the fires.

WHAT Unveiling of Greenwood mural

WHEN Thursday, December 31, 11 a.m.

WHERE North 85th Street, just west of Greenwood Avenue.

Meet in front of Taproot Theatre Company, 204 North 85th Street, Seattle

Aurora Mural Art Project | Meet the Artists Jan 11th

Aurora Art Mural Project
Join your neighbors to meet the artists who have been hired to create 2 art murals on Aurora.

Aurora mural locations include empty storefront windows and/or sides of buildings. The first project site is 7615 Aurora Avenue N. The artists hired are from Seattle Mural Art, an affiliate of Bherd Studios located in Greenwood. John Osgood, Zachary Bohnenkamp & Kevin "Sensei23" Sullivan are known most recently for their work creating an art mural for the safety wall next to the Greenwood businesses destroyed by arson.

Join Sustainable Green Lake, Greenwood Aurora Involved Neighbors (GAIN) and Seattle Department of Transportation to meet the artists and discuss our visions for Aurora. The basic themes for the artwork will include sustainability, traffic safety and community. Come share your ideas and enthusiasm for a new Aurora!

Monday, January 11 from 7:30-8:30pm
at The Greenwood Collective
8537 Greenwood Ave N, Suite 1 (located next to Gary's Games & Hobby)
Light refreshments will be served

Funded by the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, Greenwood Aurora Involved Neighbors (GAIN) and the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.


For more information, contact gaingroup@gmail.com.